Characterizing Gender Construction in the L2 Classroom

Abstract

This research project considers the reasons why gender issue are an important topic in educational research. This paper is a descriptive and interpretive study whose aim is to explore how gender construction is characterized in the L2 classroom, through social interaction while working on task-based activities. I identified through class observations that students had different points of view on gender competition. In order to understand gender construction, I implemented a Task-Based Learning approach based on debates as pedagogical intervention, and a questionnaire which showed me the students‟ points of view and their thoughts. Further, I used Feminist and Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis (FPDA) procedures in order to identify the interactions where students made explicit the gender concept during classroom activities and questionnaires. Findings suggested that students resist the traditional concept of gender; i.e., male-female. The categories found, explain the mechanisms used by students to construct a gender.